History of the Qaraunah Turks in India c6.66

c6.66

Ibn Batūṭah has given a different account of Khusrau’s death which seems to have based entirely upon hearsay. According to him, Khusrau remained concealed tormented by hunger. He gave a ring of his to the gardener to fetch something from the market to eat. When the garden-people saw a precious ring in the possession of a gardener, their suspicion was roused. They took him to the Kotwal and the latter took him to Tughluq. Fakhr-al-Din was sent to arrest him. When he was brought before Ghazi Malik, he said that he was hungry whereupon the latter ordered his men to supply drink and food for him. When he had taken his food he asked Tughluq to treat him as became a king on which the old warrior ordered him to be decapitated. Ibn Batutah’s account savours of a myth, and it is quite probable that he may have found this popular explanation of Khusrau’s death current in Hindustan on his arrival.